Your favourite author, and why

[Guest]

Hello,zephrbabe. Your post was fun and refreshingly new. I just don't get Pratchett though two of my best friends love him. I did enjoy "Mort" though. You should know another Winter's Tale character by my Lit. nom; I know there's a TP character of same, maybe in the next decade I'll read another discbook.

best, "Perdita"

 

[Seattle Zack]

While he is unquestionably a giant of the sci-fi genre, I always liked Asimov more as a futurist than a novelist. Niven would have to be my favorite sci-fi writer--Arthur C. Clarke is a close second. I have a shelf full of their books. My favorite single sci-fi book is Roger Zelazny's The Lord of Light--a yellowed and dog-eared copy of which I bought for a dime at a yard sale.

Well, I don't know about Asimov as a futurist, not in the category of Tofler or Clarke ... many of Asimov's novels (the hundred or so) were nothing more than detective novels, really.

I did neglect Zelazny, though, one of the most underrated sci-fi novelists ever. Chronicles of Amber influenced me profoundly when I was still learning to appreciate the writer's craft, and it holds up well to this day.

Another author I remember reading as a child was John Christopher, that Tripods trilogy (The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, The Pool of Fire) was like the Harry Potter books in my day.

 

[shereads]

This one I didn't post before because I always have to look up the spelling of his name and I was tired. Some fan, huh.

Kazuo Ishiguro. Two favorites, both of which I read and re-read, sometimes just for a favorite paragraph:

"Remains of the Day," which is just achingly lovely. A first-person narrative that's full of humor, all of it at the expense of the humorless narrator. He's not just a stalwart butler; he's a pathologically stalwart butler. Having denied every emotional bond and sacrificed his best shot at happiness, in the waning years of his life he finally snaps out of it. He tells his story in flashbacks as he drives across England in a borrowed Rolls, hoping to claim the love of his life decades after he sent her away.

You've either seen the movie, or you can guess how it ends. Still, unexpectedly, there's a moment of sweetness and hope at the end that was recreated beautifully in the film, when butler Stevens and his new employer free a bird trapped in the house.

Ishiguro's later novel, "The Unconsoled," comes as close as anything I've ever read to recreating what it feels like to dream - not a floaty, sensual dream and not a nightmare, but one of those frustrating dreams where something you want is forever out of reach.

The protagonist checks into a hotel in an unfamiliar city where everyone recognizes him and he recognizes no one - at least not right away. He doesn't have amnesia; he's no more surprised by the unfamiliarity of his surroundings than you're typically surprised by the slightly off-kilter room or landscape in a dream. Everything he knows about his life, Ryder learns as the reader learns it, from the characters around him.

From the hotel desk clerk to a woman he meets by chance at a cafe (who turns out to be his child's mother) the whole town knows Ryder as a famous pianist/composer who's in town to give the most important concert of his career. The problem is, Ryder isn't entirely sure he knows how to play the piano. And he can't find time to practice, because he lets himself be bullied into a relentless schedule of speaking engagements and personal favors, with no breaks to eat or sleep.

There's usually a lavish buffet with all of his favorite foods, but he never gets a forkfull of food near his mouth without being distracted by some new plot twist. I've had that dream a dozen times, when faced with frustrating situations; this book is full of disturbingly famiiar moments like that.

"The Unconsoled" is tragic and hysterically funny, by turns. But the narrator remains absolutely deadpan; unaware of the humor of his increasingly bizarre week or of his complicity in allowing it to happen.

"The Unconsoled" is not a comfortable read; it's too full of reminders of how we shape our lives by choosing not to make choices. As passive as he is, Ryder is never satisfied; he doesn't take responsibility for changing course, but neither does he allow himself the peace that comes with acceptance. It's worthwhile reading, for the same reason.

It's also just a gorgeous piece of writing.

 

[Clare Quilty]

Well, I don't know about Asimov as a futurist, not in the category of Tofler or Clarke ... many of Asimov's novels (the hundred or so) were nothing more than detective novels, really.

I referred to a non-ficition Asimov book I had as a child, wherein he expounded on such topics as worm holes and superluminous travel. He also apparently wrote a guide to Shakespeare. I've never read that one, but I'd be interested to see it.

 

[oggbashan]

Out with it. P.

My bad. The quote is about the body, not just the skull:

Thomas Love Peacock, Headlong Hall, Chapter IX The Anniversary.

Mr Cranium speaks to assembled company (most of whom are Welsh speakers):

"Ardently desirous, to the extent of my feeble capacity,
of disseminating as much as possible, the inexhaustible treasures to which this golden key admits the humblest votary of philsophical truth, I invite you, when you have sufficiently restored, replenished, refreshed, and exhilarated that osteosarchaematosplanchnochondroneuromuelous, or to employ a more intelligible term, osseocarnisanguineoviscericartilaginonervomedullary, compages, or shell, the body...."

The full sentence means "When you have finished your dinner I will explain in the Library".

Og

 

[Carl East]

I used to love Piers Anthony when I was a teenager. But, as the Xanth series dragged on and on, I lost interest.

Well, there's more to Piers Anthony that just Xanth. There's his 'Mode series, his 'Adept series, and his 'Incarnation series. All, I might add very good stories. As for Xanth dragging on, GREAT! The more he writes the better I like it. lol

Carl

 

[ferociouskittycat]

I have my fave authors. Our own Rumple Foreskin and Green Gem are two of them.

Patricia51, Bob Clark Jr., .... If I have to follow the lead... then Stephen King.

I love erotic horror, so stick with what I like.

Another author that is under appreciated on here is Tatelou and Comnemo. I hope I spelled his name right.

Margin Walker..... how about supporting our own talented writers?

I read one tonight, A kiss is still a kiss... highest rated in the past 24 hours in the feedback portal. Can't remember the author, but the story will stay with me for years.

It doesn't matter really who writes a story, it's the impact of a story that stays with a reader, rather than an author's name.

I've read fantastic stories by many authors on here. I can't remember all of them, but loved their work.

That's all that matters.

(Not saying that if someone read my stuff, that I wouldn't want them to remember my name!! LOL )

 

[Guest]

Well, there's more to Piers Anthony that just Xanth. There's his 'Mode series, his 'Adept series, and his 'Incarnation series. All, I might add very good stories. As for Xanth dragging on, GREAT! The more he writes the better I like it. lol

Carl

The adept series was terrific. And I still love the Xanth series. But then I'm a sucker for bad puns.

 

[gauchecritic]

Someone mentioned sci-fi which is about characters rather than science. (I won't go into the Heinlein thing again)

For an excellent example (probably the best I've ever read) of this style of writing in sci-fi everyone should read Bob Shaw's short story "The light of other days."

Quantum physics allowed him to invent 'slow glass'. The glass slows down light and gives 'picture window' another meaning. The slowest glass (most expensive) has a 'thickness' measured in years. Leave it in a field with magnificent scenery then take it home and you have a beautiful landscape to view in a high rise metropolis.

The story centres on a couple who visit a 'slow glass farm' in Ireland and discover how the invention is put to use by the farmer.

It's a hard science 'people' story.

Gauche

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Piers Anthony's "Incarnations" series was rather good.

...

...damn, now that's going to give me a bad rep.

 

[CuriTab]

Your favorite author, and why

My favorite authors are Aristophanes (plays) and Dostoyevskii (novels).

I love the irreverance of Aristophanes. He lampooned and skewered all, showing up the self-importance of the players of Hellenic politics.

Dostoyevskii? Tear-jerker. He makes me cry. That doesn't seem like a good reason, I know, but that is accomplishing the incredibly difficult. His style is so emotional (at times overwhelming) and questioning. He wrote as if he were trying to figure something out--his characters, the setting, the wording...

That, and I have a thing for 19th-Century Russian authors.

 

[TheEarl]

I am a fan of Piers Anthony - Xanth especially. They're out of print in England, so I'm always lookign around 2nd hand bookstores.

Frank Herbert was a name that rose immediately to mind, but I'm not sure if he was a great author, or just wrote a great book. Dune was undeniably his best work by a distance, followed (in order) by Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor, etc, etc. His non-Duniverse books didn't have the same atmosphere and the series itself faded towards the end.

James Clavell is a fantastic writer - his ability to encase you in a world is second-to-none. It is interesting that, although I adore all of his books, my writing style is nothing like his and in fact I derive very little from his works. Guess I know he's out of my league. Shogun is one of very few books that I could quite happily just keep reading, over and over. Every time I reach the end, I want to dive back in.

Christopher Brookmyre is my favourite author though and the one who I wish I had the talent of. He's ascerbic, witty, sardonic and yet manages to create a story and characters that you can't put down. He has been compared to Hiasson, but IMHO he's better. He's not just a wit, but a damned fine story teller too and has superlative character-building. My favourite book is "Not the End of the World" simply for the character of Madeleine Witherson.

In a way it was an extreme form of role-playing therapy, stepping outside of herself to become this voraciously sexual person, confident, in control, getting what she wanted. She now fully understood what people meant by the term 'abandon.' When she was becoming Katy Koxx, she was abandoning everything about Madeleine Witherson, existing without the constraints of fear and worry for a while. And when she returned to being Madeleine Witherson, she brought a little more of Katy Koxx back with her each time.

It was like having a secret lover: she had this other life, this other self that nobody knew about, and the thought of it was a constant thrill. When she was in familiar company, she got off thinking how surprised they would be if they knew. The paradox was that the longer she was a porn actress, the more the public Madeleine changed into someone they'd be less surprised to learn that about.

The Earl

 

[impressive]

Oh, Heinlein. When I was a kid, I used tell everyone I wanted to live in his world. Still do! I love his take on relationships.

Piers Anthony is more than Xanth. Much more. I love the Geodyssey series. Check it out. 'Tis different.

Anne McCaffrey. Anne Rice. Jean Auel. Tolkein. Asimov. Frank Herbert (although Brian Herbert's prequels are lighter & more entertaining).

On and on and on ...

 

[Clare Quilty]

Well, there's more to Piers Anthony that just Xanth. There's his 'Mode series, his 'Adept series, and his 'Incarnation series. All, I might add very good stories. As for Xanth dragging on, GREAT! The more he writes the better I like it. lol

Carl

I believe that I did read several of the volumes of the Adept series, if I remember correctly. Isn't it about a serf in a future Roman-like society where the path to citizenship lie in winning a game that consists of sliding through tubes? It's been a 100 years since I've read any of Mr. Anthony's stuff, and the details have become rather diffused. I also remember reading a book of his, where the protagonist becomes the grim reaper. I can't remember much other than that.

 

[Clare Quilty]

Piers Anthony is more than Xanth. Much more.

He wasn't when I was reading A Spell for Chameleon (which I absolutely loved) in 1979.

 

[impressive]

Actually, by 1979 I believe he had already completed Pornucopia (which was just reprinted when its sequel was recently published). Talk about some off-the-wall shit!

I started on Anthony with Xanth -- but quickly moved on. The Bio of a Space Tyrant series was entertaining, too. Geodyssey is my favorite, though.

Peace,

 

[Clare Quilty]

Dune was undeniably his best work by a distance, followed (in order) by Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor, etc, etc. His non-Duniverse books didn't have the same atmosphere and the series itself faded towards the end.

I read Dune and Dune Messiah with frenetic enthusiasm. I then plowed determinedly through Children of Dune. Finally, I
staggered to the end of of God Emperor of Dune, and said the hell with it.

James Clavell is a fantastic writer - his ability to encase you in a world is second-to-none.

Shogun was one of the books I read over and over in my youth. Gai Jin on the other hand I never really got into.

 

[Clare Quilty]

Actually, by 1979 I believe he had already completed Pornucopia (which was just reprinted when its sequel was recently published). Talk about some off-the-wall shit!

I started on Anthony with Xanth -- but quickly moved on. The Bio of a Space Tyrant series was entertaining, too. Geodyssey is my favorite, though.

Peace,

I didn't mean to imply that he hadn't written anything else. I meant to say that Xanth was the source of his fame in these parts.

 

[rgraham666]

I think my favourite writer is Harlan Ellison.

Although best known for SF, there seemed to be nothing that he couldn't turn his hand too.

I even have a comic book by him, The Chocolate Aphabet.

And he wrote two of my all-time favourite short stories; Repent Harlequin, Said The Tick Tock Man and I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream.

The former is about a dystopia based on The Schedule. It's also quite funny.

The latter was the first story I ever read warning us that AI might not be such a good idea.

 

[vargas111]

I'm rather amazed at now many of my favorietes havw already been named. Just to throw more meat on the fire let me suggest

Mario Vargas Losa (no relation)
GabrielGarcia Marzuez
Salman Rushdie

For Garcia Marquez The read is 100 years of solitude. If you don't do anything else, read the first paragraph and the last paragraph

Rushdie is harder. MIdnight's Children/Satinic Verses hard to say

Vargas Llosa almost impoossible as he has written in so many genre. Slapstick - Pantaleon y las Visitadoras (English translatiom is good but I don't remember the exac ttitle) and Aunt Julia and the script writer. Political thriller Who Killed {} Mera Eroticia - The Stepmother

If possible read them all as the books talk to eache other

 

[DarkDuchess]

I don't think I could choose one favorite. I like too many different genres.

Bentley Little, because he is a twisted bastard. Ray Bradbury because his work is never about the obvious lesson there on the surface. Beatrice Small, because she is so good at being filthy and Chaucer for the same.

 

[Guest]

For an excellent example (probably the best I've ever read) of this style of writing in sci-fi everyone should read Bob Shaw's short story "The light of other days."

I looked this up and found it to be one of the best short stories I've read in ages. I love the guy's style, the kind where every word is essential. The science is very interesting but the main couple and the farmer's story is what makes the story profound. Read it.

Perdita

Light of Other Days

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

Probably been said already, but Bradbury sits atop my pantheon of exalted writers.

He was my gateway drug turning me from mere avid and advanced reader to full-on bibliophile. He was the author who introduced me to sci-fi and fantasy and also the first writer to really work me over. His style is beautifully fluid and just enough off standard to make English teachers grumble. His anti-censorship and bizarre works helped me to realize that the whinings of authority figures on how books should be was so much prattle. Plus, he is the only author I know who sounds like a drunken pirate while looking like a kindly grandfather.

After him, the list gets long, but the key runner-ups would be Douglas Adams, for his beautiful imagination and total command over the English language, Isaac Asimov, for his modern rennaisance lifestyle and for being the first writer in my opinion to make pure logic interesting, and Neil Gaiman, for showing the world that story is always more important than medium or "literary value".

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

I looked this up and found it to be one of the best short stories I've read in ages. I love the guy's style, the kind where every word is essential. The science is very interesting but the main couple and the farmer's story is what makes the story profound. Read it.

Perdita

Light of Other Days

Perdita,

Thanks for the link. It was well written, but as our tastes differ, it should come as no shock that I wasn't overwhelmed. My problems began with the second sentence. "I had never seen one of the farms before...." Of course, "before" is redundant.

My other two quibbles: too many "ly" adverbs and a too lengthy explanation of "slow glass."

Still, those are comments on possible flaws in the cake's decoration, not its taste. The story was an enjoyable read.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[Guest]

Rumps, I'm going to start calling you GrumbleForeskin. P.